When the Napa County Sheriff’s Office investigated the January shooting death of American Canyon teen Anthony Gee, another teen joined them in a search for the murder weapon.

With local detectives, Tom Orlando Jr. combed a field, creek and the area surrounding the crime scene — an area littered with paper plates and cups left behind from partygoers. The search did not turn up a weapon.

“At school the next day, everyone was talking about Anthony Gee,” Orlando said.

Orlando, 17, is one of seven Napa Search and Rescue Explorers — teens who assist the Napa County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Unit. Explorers are usually 14 to 18 years old and must be available at the drop of a hat, at any hour of the day or night, to participate in rescue and recovery missions. “Usually, more Explorers show up than adult unit members,” Orlando said.

The Explorers are a hardy bunch, often engaging in missions at night while carrying heavy first aid gear — sometimes for miles.

Orlando, president of the Napa Search and Rescue Explorers, is a student at Vintage High School. He and other Explorers, including Explorers secretary and Napa High student Savannah Reed, join agencies inside and outside of Napa County for missions tracking and assisting lost or injured people.

Reed, 15, has a ham radio license, and is certified in CPR, tracking and low-angle rope rescue, which is used to assist people who fall off of hiking trails and other steep areas.

Orlando, also certified in tracking and CPR, said while searching for missing or lost people, Explorers look for shoe tracks and areas where tall grass is crushed by footsteps, and use search dogs to assist them.

Explorers also help the Sheriff’s Office assist evacuations caused by fires and floods, he said.

While Explorers programs have been around the region for decades, Robert Reed, Savannah’s father and adult advisor for the Napa Search and Rescue Explorers, said Napa County’s group banded on Sept. 12 of last year. Reed, 47, said Napa County Explorers train with Sheriff’s Departments in Napa, Sonoma, Alameda and Contra Costa counties to earn certifications in helicopter training, rope rescue and mantracking.

For the Explorers, the real thing usually follows on the heels of training exercises. Orlando and Reed assisted in a search near Highway 29 and Silverado Trail in Calistoga on Jan. 7, when an exhausted female hiker was stranded on Oat Hill Mine Road. The hiker’s significant other hiked down to the bottom of the hill to get help. The Explorers showed up after dark and took food and water to the woman, later escorting her down the hill. The Explorers were on the scene from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m.

When they get paged for emergency calls, sometimes at hours when most of the Napa Valley is fast asleep, Explorers usually meet at the sheriff’s headquarters on Airport Boulevard.

On April 29 — prom weekend — Orlando got a call at 5 a.m. when a man went missing in Marin County, he said. “But by the time I got there, they found him,” he said, adding that it’s frustrating when he arrives on-scene with adrenaline pumping and nothing to do. “The man and two buddies took a hike and one man got lost, spending the night in the bushes,” Orlando said.

Reed also said she gets her share of calls and pages. In April, Reed said, she helped Sonoma County Sheriff’s officers when a Sonoma woman went missing after leaving her house and threatening to commit suicide.

Although it can be demanding, Reed has a passion for her work with the Explorers. “I always enjoy the outdoors and hiking. My dad started (the Explorers) a few years ago and I followed him around a lot. I joined at 14. The ropes are the most fun — and going down cliffs and doing tracking.”

Reed, who is considering a career as a doctor, said she likes the medical aspect of search and rescue missions. Her short-term goals include earning her first responder certification, finding work as a lifeguard and volunteering at the Napa Songbird Clinic.

Orlando said he is an Explorer because he relishes the opportunity to help others. He’s also a U.S. Naval Sea Cadet; works as a janitor when he’s not in school; and is a part-time aide to state park rangers. He wants to become a forward air controller officer with the United States Marine Corps.